Sony says not releasing its first-party games on PS Plus on day one is ‘working’

Sony Interactive Entertainment still has no plans to put its first-party games on PlayStation Plus on the day of release, according to a key exec.

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, vice president and global head of subscriptions Nick Maguire said the company has no interest in making all its first-party games available on day one like Microsoft does with Xbox Game Pass.

“We’re happy with our strategy,” Maguire said. “Putting games in a bit later in the life cycle has meant that we can reach more customers 12, 18, 24 months after they have released.

“We’re seeing customers still get excited about those games and jumping in. For us, that’s working.

“Occasionally, there will be an opportunity to invest in a day-and-date [release] like Stray, and we will jump on those when they come in.

“But for us, letting those [first-party] games go out to the platform outside the service first… that’s working and that will continue to be our strategy moving forward.”

When asked if this strategy could change in the future for PlayStation’s planned live service titles, in order to ensure a large audience for them at launch, Maguire didn’t commit either way.

“We are constantly working out what the right strategy is moving forward,” he replied. “How are player habits going to evolve and how do we make sure the service meets those future habits?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXwhpK4y-5Q

“[There’s] no more I can say on that at the moment, but obviously we are keeping close to it and thinking about the role that Plus can play moving forward.”

Last year, both PlayStation boss Jim Ryan and the company’s head of independent developer initiatives Shuhei Yoshida said it had no intention of releasing its games on PS Plus on day one.

In March 2022, Ryan said: “We feel if we were to do that with the games that we make at PlayStation Studios, that virtuous cycle will be broken. The level of investment that we need to make in our studios would not be possible, and we think the knock-on effect on the quality of the games that we make would not be something that gamers want.”

Further reading

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PS5 game streaming being tested, will be offered with PlayStation Plus Premium

It will include PS Plus Game Catalogue titles, Game Trials and “supported” digital games players own

Yoshida reiterated this in September 2022, saying: “It’s like in the movies — a movie comes out at the theatre first, then goes to pay per view, or a subscription service, or free TV, every time generating new revenue and reaching out to a broader audience.

“In the same kind of way, we believe in the premium release of a title at launch and after maybe six months, or three months, or three years, when the game’s sales come down, inclusion into PS Plus Extra can help introduce these games to new, broader audiences.”